About RMA

About Rocky Mountain APPA

RMA promotes the common interests of planning, maintenance and operation of facilities within the region’s educational institutions, supports and supplements the activities of APPA, and fosters a professional spirit among those engaged in this work. Rocky Mountain APPA includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, and new in 2013, the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Sonora.

On February 23-25, 1953, the charter meeting of the group of physical plant  staff representing institutions of higher education in the Rocky Mountain area was held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  Forty-seven (47) individuals from twenty (20) institutions were in attendance at this meeting.

The national APPA meeting held at Auburn University in 1953 was a key meeting for both the national and the regional groups. In that meeting, a new framework for both the national and regional associations was adopted and an entirely new set of bylaws was established to support this concept. On March 27, 1984 RMA was issued a Certificate of Incorporation under the Colorado Non Profit Corporation Act. The purpose of the corporation is to promote the common interests of the membership in accordance with its bylaws and the common goals of higher education, and for such other and further lawful purposes.

The Rocky Mountain Region initially consisted of institutions from the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. The Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories were not included in the region until the late 1970’s. Representatives from some of the Texas border institutions have also been regular RMA members since the region’s inception. Similarly, a number of Idaho institutions also have been regular RMA members and Idaho as a whole was officially recognized as part of RMA in 2008. The five Mexican states were added when APPA expanded southward in 2013.

For a more complete history of Rocky Mountain APPA (including a download link to our 50th anniversary publication) please go to our History page.